Do Russians speak English?
“Nobody in Russia speaks English.”
Outside the service industry in Moscow and St. Petersburg, mostly no — Russia ranks low on international English proficiency, and you should expect to need a translation app and a handful of phrases.
The numbers · Checked September 2026
Low proficiency
Russia's placement in the EF English Proficiency Index, well below Northern and Western Europe
EF English Proficiency IndexBilingual signage
Moscow metro announcements, station names and airport signage are in Russian and English
Moscow Metro, official site33 letters
Learning to read Cyrillic takes a few hours and removes most of the daily friction
Two Nations, the Russian alphabet
Where the impression comes from
Nothing much. This is the rare claim that visitors arrive with and find confirmed. The part that surprises them is how little it matters in practice.
What this actually means for you
Spend an hour learning to read the alphabet before you go. Not the language — the letters. Once you can sound out a sign, a menu and a metro station, the city becomes navigable and the language gap turns into an inconvenience rather than a wall.
Then learn about ten phrases and let your phone do the rest. Younger people in cafés and hotels in the two big cities usually have some English; a taxi driver or a market seller usually will not, and will happily communicate in numbers and gestures anyway.
- •Download offline translation for Russian before you land.
- •Menus in central Moscow often have an English version — ask.
- •Writing a destination in Cyrillic beats pronouncing it.
Why this is less of a problem than it sounds
Russia's everyday apps carry the load. Taxis are ordered without speaking, delivery is ordered without speaking, and tickets are bought in an app. The interactions that used to demand a shared language are the ones that have been automated away.
What is true in the claim
Effectively all of it. This one is true, and the honest advice is to prepare rather than to argue.
Common questions
Can I get around Moscow without speaking Russian?
Yes. Metro signage and announcements are bilingual, taxis are ordered in an app, and translation apps cover the rest. Reading Cyrillic makes it far easier.
Do taxi drivers in Russia speak English?
Usually not. Order through an app so the destination is already set and no conversation is needed.
How much Russian should I learn before visiting?
The alphabet, so you can read, plus about ten phrases for greetings, thanks, numbers and asking for the bill.
